Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC)

Contact

Name	Email	Phone	Room
Michael Van Woert	mvanwoer@nsf.gov	(703) 292-8030	755 S

NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE Arctic Observing Network (AON): Toward a U.S. Contribution to Pan-Arctic Observing (NSF 08-42) The U.S. Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) consists of fifteen-plus agencies, departments, and offices across the Federal government. Established by Congress through the Arctic Research and Policy Act, IARPC is chaired by the National Science Foundation.

Recently, the IARPC compiled member agency information about the Arctic environment in the Committee’s latest report, Arctic Observing Network (AON): Toward a US Contribution to Pan-Arctic Observing. The report pinpoints where and how the different Federal agencies are collecting environmental data as part of the implementation of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH). SEARCH aims to understand the rapidly changing Arctic, improve predictive capability, and identify appropriate adaptive responses to change. The agencies will continue to coordinate their efforts, make the data readily available in usable form, and work together to serve Arctic residents, involving them in the observing and research efforts as full partners. The development and deployment of the Arctic Observing Network, or AON, is a major contribution to the International Polar Year, a time of intense, coordinated scientific activity at both Poles. The new report sets forth a plan to continue the observations in cooperation with local, State of Alaska, and international groups.

Meeting Information

Information resulting from IARPC meetings is available on the IARPC Meeting Information page.

About the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) includes representatives of the following Federal agencies or offices:

the National Science Foundation the Department of Commerce the Department of Defense the Department of State the Department of Health and Human Services the Department of Homeland Security Office of Science and Technology Policy the Department of Agriculture the Department of Energy the Department of the Interior the Department of Transportation the National Aeronautics and Space Administration the Environmental Protection Agency the Smithsonian Institution the National Endowment for the Humanities The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the lead agency responsible for implementing Arctic research policy, and the NSF chairs the IARPC.

The IARPC:

• Helps set priorities for future Arctic research;
• Works with the Arctic Research Commission to develop and establish an integrated national Arctic research policy to guide Federal agencies in developing and implementing their research programs in the Arctic;
• Consults with the Arctic Research Commission on matters related to Arctic research policy, programs and funding support;
• Develops a five year plan to implement the national policy, and updates the plan biennially;
• Coordinates preparation of multiagency budget documents for Arctic research;
• Facilitates cooperation between the Federal Government and State and local governments in Arctic Research;
• Coordinates and promotes cooperative Arctic scientific research programs with other nations;
• Promotes Federal interagency coordination of Arctic research activities, including logistical planing and data sharing; and
• Submits a biennial report to the Congress through the President containing a statement of the activities and accomplishments of the IARPC since its last report.

ARCTIC RESEARCH AND POLICY ACT

The Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984, Public Law 98-373, July 31, 1984; amended as Public Law 101-609, November 16, 1990 (ARPA), provides for a comprehensive national policy dealing with national research needs and objectives in the Arctic. The ARPA establishes an Arctic Research Commission (ARC) and an Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) to help implement the Act.

The journal Arctic Research of the United States is published by the National Science Foundation for the IARPC and the Arctic Research Commission. Arctic Research is aimed at national and international audiences of government officials, scientists, engineers, educators, private and public groups, and residents of the Arctic. The emphasis is on summary and survey articles covering U.S. Government-sponsored or funded research rather than on technical reports, and the articles are comprehensible to a nontechnical audience. Although the articles go through the normal editorial process, manuscripts are not refereed for scientific content or merit.

Arctic Research contains:

• Reports on current and planned U.S. Government-sponsored research in the Arctic;
• Reports of IARPC meetings; and
• Summaries of other current and planned Arctic research.

The current issue is available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07137/index.jsp